Aviation Research: Airport Cooperative Research Program Addresses Many Needs but Could Enhance Transparency and Clarify Scope of Research Role

In 2010, we reported that the Air Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) had implemented many practices and procedures that help to assure the production of high-quality applied research, but gaps existed in some areas of its research processes. The program's documented operating procedures did not reflect (1) the involvement of the Airport Consultants Council (ACC) on the ACRP Oversight Committee (AOC) (2) the enhanced role of ex-officio members in project selection decisions, and (3) the AOC's current consensus-driven approach to selecting projects. This incomplete documentation of certain program practices potentially diminished the transparency of some aspects of the AOC's operations. Therefore, we recommended that the Department of Transportation, and other relevant entities, revise key program documentation to align with actual board membership and that ACRP use its project selection rules. In 2010, ACC was formally appointed to ACRP's governing board and program documentation--such as annual reports--was updated accordingly. Additionally, the governing board holds a formal vote--after the board discusses proposed projects--to make project selections. In 2013, we confirmed that ACC's appointment is reflected in updated documentation and continued adherence to formal project selection practices provide greater program transparency and stability, as intended by our recommendation, and substantively address the gaps we identified in our report. As a result, ACRP operations are more transparent to program stakeholders.

In 2010, we reported that the Air Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) had produced a variety of high-quality and useful results for the airport industry, according to the officials we interviewed. However, the program's role in conducting security research was unclear. ACRP materials, such as its annual solicitation of project ideas, included security as a potential topic within the scope of the program. However, the ACRP Oversight Committee (AOC) had not generally funded security projects, in part because of differing views about whether ACRP should do this research. Airport security was certainly a concern shared by airport operators and AOC members. Given the significant amount of aviation security research that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had conducted, ACRP may or may not have been the appropriate venue to address unmet needs of airports in this area. Although FAA had stated that ACRP should not conduct security research, it was the responsibility of the AOC as a whole, of which FAA was a part, to determine what role, if any, the program had in this area. The AOC had discussed the program's role in addressing security, but it was not clear what actions, if any, it planned to take to resolve the lack of clarity. This lack of agreement among AOC members about the program's role in addressing security research had left the program, in effect, not addressing security research, but holding out the possibility that it could do so. Therefore, we recommended that the Department of Transportation, with the involvement of other relevant entities, clearly articulate ACRP's role, if any, in security research and update program documentation accordingly. Between 2010 and 2013, FAA, the Transportation Research Board (TRB), and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) conferred about each entity's role in airport security research. A memorandum of agreement between FAA and TSA, signed in 2011, explains that ACRP will continue to accept and review security research proposals, but will forward these proposals to the TSA for evaluation and possible inclusion in a research program it manages. The memorandum of agreement also requires a process for soliciting security research proposal from the airport community and the wide distribution of research reports to the airport community. Finally, the solicitation for fiscal year 2015 projects disseminated to the airport community does not include security as a project area. As a result, AOC members--who represent airports and other industry stakeholders--have a better understanding of what research can be expected from ACRP.